LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Students in a high school automotive program will make an impact in Lexington by providing service to people working toward stable employment.
According to Jubilee Jobs, the organization helped more than 700 people secure jobs in central Kentucky in 2025. One of the biggest obstacles to getting a job is finding a way to get around town.
“So many of the folks that were trying to help get good jobs cite transportation as their primary barrier to getting good employment,” said Mason King, Jubilee Jobs CEO. “Low-income Americans are twice as likely to get a job and 400% more likely to maintain that job if they have a vehicle.”
Jubilee Jobs announced a partnership with Fayette County Public Schools and their Hub for Innovative Learning and Leadership, also known as the HILL. The goal is for students learning how to work on automotives to gain real-world experience, while helping break down barriers to employment.
“I think that's exactly what we want here at the Hill, is, we want to serve with this brand new equipment that we have now,” said Doni Munoz, automotive teacher at the HILL. “We're helping the community. We're helping people that are in need. Students are getting real-life hands-on training.”
“These students, while learning how to become capable automotive mechanics and servicers, they are impacting lives today,” King added.
That includes students like Gabriela Stephens, a senior at Bryan Station High School. After taking morning classes, Stephens goes to the Drive Center at the HILL campus.
“Working on the cars in general - very, very hands on – is what I like about it,” she said.
“We do maintenance and light repair,” explained Munoz. “Anything from oil changes to tire rotates, you know, brakes, small diagnosis, that's part of the curriculum here we teach here at the at the school.”
Through this partnership, students will go to work on cars of Jubilee clients, reducing costs, and providing valuable experience.
“We're going to get real life customers, working on their cars, not working on some like cars that we already worked on like 5 times already,” Stephens said. “It's just like we're getting more experience.”
“We want to try our best to simulate it as like what would happen if you actually took it to an actual shop here in Lexington,” Munoz shared.
“To now have a place to turn to say, ‘Hey, let's get that car fixed and let's also train the next generation of leaders in this space’ is just so incredibly fulfilling,” added King.
To announce the partnership between Jubilee Jobs and the HILL, King spoke with students at the Drive Center to share with them the impact of their work.
